It's the creamiest!

Slow-Cooked Mac 'n' Cheese: the words alone are enough to make most mouths water. Shelby Molina's recipe is a…View this recipe

“Slow-cooked Mac ’n’ Cheese.” The words alone are enough to make mouths water. And Shelby Molina’s recipe is a clear example of comfort food at its finest; it’s rich, hearty and extra cheesy. And even better, it’s made in the slow cooker, so it’s extremely easy to fix.

But all of the creamy goodness from the butter and cheese also adds up to fat and calories in excess. “It has so much fat and cholesterol that I can’t bring myself to feed it to my family,” Shelby notes from Whitewater, Wisconsin. “Is there any way to lighten this recipe and still cook it in the slow cooker?”

No problem, Shelby! Our makeover teammates rolled up their sleeves and began by cutting down the butter and choosing fat-free milk to trim fat. They replaced the original’s mild cheddar cheese with reduced-fat processed cheese and scaled back just slightly on sharp cheddar cheese in order to maintain the original’s distinct flavor.

As a result, Makeover Slow-Cooked Mac ’n’ Cheese has 15 fewer grams of fat per serving, and the cholesterol is slashed by more than half. Best of all, it’s a hit with Shelby’s family.

“My husband and teenage son really like it,” she notes. “Now that this recipe is lighter, I’ll be able to serve it more often without a bit of worry.”